Self-Help Health

By Barbara Kiviat Sunday, Mar. 14, 2004
    • With double-digit increases in health-care costs, more companies are turning to consumer-directed health plans, which transfer control — and much of the responsibility for paying — to workers. Features include cost sharing with employees, high deductibles, reimbursement accounts, preventive medicine and health savings accounts, which, like individual retirement accounts, allow workers to sock away money tax free.

    Consumer-Directed Health Plans

    --Number of employees enrolled with the largest providers, in thousands

    2002 -- 41
    2003 -- 169
    2004 -- 478

    --Percentage of large companies offering the plans

    2003 -- 21%
    2004 -- 32%

    Sources: National Business Group on Health; Watson Wyatt Worldwide